Absence makes the heart grow fonder, they say, and in this case, it is more than a little true. The Brothers Winchester are finally confronted by one of their enemies, and it’s not pretty. (Well, in point of fact, it is pretty, even if I’m not a big fan of the short-hair look.) The final act does threaten to derail the episode somewhat, but overall, this advances the story in some interesting directions.

I like the fact that Sam was attracted to Meg, because Dean is usually the one with the leering eye. (Evidence: that babe of a bartender!) Where Dean seems to go for the looks and the one-night stand, Sam is attracted more to the emotional resonance. Meg told him everything he needed to hear when they first met, and it left him vulnerable as a result. Even though he kept his head in the game for the most part, that attraction clearly kept him off balance.

Meg is a complicated and powerful adversary, and part of me wishes that she had remained a more subtle enemy. She doesn’t give away much in this episode, other than the fact that John is the main target and the sons are considered good bait, but there’s no chance of complicating the relationship between Sam and Meg after this episode.

I just have to say: I love this show. Even when they don’t quite hit the high mark they’re aiming for, I have to give them credit. This episode was drenched in atmosphere, and while the story was a little thin, it once again boiled down to the psychology of the two brothers. Specifically, in this instance, Dean’s emotions regarding Sam.

For all that Sam annoys Dean to no end, Dean also feels an incredible amount of responsibility for his welfare and survival. From my perspective, this ties back into “Scarecrow”. Dean has a lot of issues with Sam and his notions of duty and responsibility to family, but he’s not about to leave Sam to the dogs. It’s nothing particularly new, but I consider the depth of relationship between Dean and Sam to be similar to the nuanced and complex relationship between Mulder and Scully on “X-Files”.

Speaking of “X-Files”, a lot of buzz surrounded this episode, claiming that it was some kind of thematic follow-up on the “X-Files” episode “Home”. It may be an obvious correlation, but I’m not entirely convinced that it’s correct.

I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the previous episode, but the writers turned things around with a very compelling mythology episode with plenty of interesting implications. More to the point, they did it by focusing almost entirely on the two leads, instead of tossing in another “Babe of the Week” to hold the interests of the audience. The writers had confidence in the strength of their concept and story, and as such, that confidence was shining through in nearly every scene.

I still don’t think Jared is the best actor in the world, but I like where the character is going and how he’s tackling the challenge. The series started out with strict lines between the normal and paranormal, but now that the lines are blurring in a major way, Sam’s abilities could have come across as incredibly silly. Instead, there are shades of the issues that came up for Cordelia on “Angel”. Sam may have visions, but those visions are not a pleasant experience, and they don’t always give him a chance to change things.

The interesting part is the connection between the demonic entity that killed Sam’s mother and Jess and the abilities that he began exhibiting just before the start of the series itself.

I’ve never been a fan of the whole “evil car” concept. I get the basic concept: stylish vehicle becomes weapon of mechanized death. It taps into the fear of the machine, the tool that turns on its creator. The thing is, it’s a little cheesy. It’s been done to death, and while the whole idea is that this series takes horror and urban legend staples and gives them a shiny new coat of paint, not every concept is going to work well.

Perhaps the writers were worried about the same thing, because the story is as much about Dean and his past as it is about the literal “monster truck”. I find it interesting and somewhat revealing that Dean would have little issue with a bi-racial relationship. It perfectly complements the fact that he perceives the true enemy as being the demonic entities that plague humans regardless of racial considerations.

Of course, that also allowed for some commentary on race relations over the years, which was a bit simplified for my tastes. If the area was so racially divided just a generation earlier, in that part of the country, the likelihood that bi-racial relationships would be tolerated is fairly low.